Headrail and valance bracket



Feb; 10; 1942. v w. J. STUBER ETAL 2,272,956

' HEADRAIL AND VALANCE BRACKET Filed May 22, 1940 2 sheets-sheet 1 I u I r l l l l I I flair azm s ham Feb. 10, 1942. w.- J. STUBER El AL HEADRAIL AND VALANCE BRACKET 2 Sheets-She et 2 Filed May 22, 1940 Patented Feb. 16, 1942 HEADBAIL AND VALANCE BRACKET Walter J. Stuber and John J. Di Ienno, Philadelphia, Pa., assignors to Carey McFall Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application May 22, 1940, Serial No. 336,668

2 Claims.

This invention relates to head casings for Venetian blinds; and one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a casing enclosed on threesides and both ends, leaving the bottom open for free operation of the blind while fully concealing all the mechanism employed for raising, lowering and tilting the blind.

Another object of the invention is to provide a head casing wherein the head rail, which supports the operating mechanisms of the blind, forms one of the side closures of the casing, for example the top, and wherein the front and back closures are freely removable to expose the operating mechanisms on the head 'rail without disturbing the head rail.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel form of back closure plate which, due

to its inherent characteristics, requires no screws or equivalent means for retaining it in place and which, while normally retained firmly in position, may be readily removed when desired.

Another object of the invention resides in a novel form of end bracket for supporting the head rail, the back closure plate and the front closure plate, and which constitutes the-end closure plates for the head casing.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel means for supporting the frontclosure plate, whereby it may be moved to one position to expose the operating mechanism without removal from the head casing or may be completely removed from the head casing, if desired.

The structure forming the subject matter of the present invention will be fully disclosed hereinafter, reference being had to the accompanying drawings of which:

Fig. 1 is a rear elevation of the blind assembly installed in an opening adapted to be covered by the blind;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional elevation taken on the line 2-2, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an inverted sectional plan view taken on the line 3-3, Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation taken on the line Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the end brackets, showing the one end of the back plate supported thereby;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the other end bracket, illustrating the opposite end of the back plate mounted therein;

Fig. 7 is a detached perspective view of the back plate; I

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing a modified form of front plate; and

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 showing the front plate and' head rail being removed.

As viewed from the inside of a room in which the blind is installed, at one of the windows for example, Fig. 5 illustrates the left-hand end bracket l and Fig. 6 illustrates the right-hand end bracket 2, which, as noted above, constitute the end closures for the head casing as a whole. The head rail 3, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, constitutes the top closure plate for .the head casing of which the back plate is illustrated at 4 and the front plate at 5, in Fig. 2.

Each of the end brackets l and 2 comprises a plate 6 having an inturned vertical flange I along its back edge and an inturned horizontal flange 8 along its top edge. The plates 5 and the flanges 'I and 8 in each instance may be provided with openings 9 by which the end brackets may be secured to the inner face of the side rails of a window frame, the front faces of the side rails, or the under-surface of the top rail of said window frame.

Spaced below and extending parallel to the top flange 8, each bracket is provided with a shelf Ill for supporting the top rail 3 of the blind. As shown in Fig. 4 the shelf l0 in each instance isprovided with an upturned flange II which is welded, riveted or otherwise secured to the plate 5 of the end bracket. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the shelf III in each instance extends forwardly substantially from the rear flange I and terminates short of the front edge l2 of the end plate 6.

Pivoted at l4 adjacent the lower front corner of each of the end brackets I and 2 is a front plate or valance holder l5. Each of said holders I5 comprises a body portion l6 lying in a plane parallel to and in contact with the outer face of the end plate 6 and is provided with an inturned flange I! which normally is shaped to conform to the front face of the front plate 5.

The lower end of the flange IT, in each instance, is bent backwardly and upwardly, as indicated at l8, to provide a pocket 19 for receiving and holding the lower edge 20 of the front plate 5. The upper end of the flange ll, in each instance, is bent backwardly, as indicated at 2! to embrace the upper edge 22 of the front plate 5. The portion 2| is provided with an indentae tion 24 which is adapted to snap behind the upper edge 22 of the front plate 5 and maintain the front plate firmly in the carriers or holders l5, l5, to prevent accidental, displacement of the front vplate when the same is moved from its fully enclosing position,

illustrated in Fig. 2, to a position exposing the interior of the head casing in which the pivoted holders I8, l8 assume the positions illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 respectively.

As shown in Figs. 2, 5 and 6 the front edge 28 of the shelf I8 is spacedinwardly from the front edge I2 of the end plate 8 to accommodate the front plate 8 therebetween and to prevent accidental displacement inwardly of the valance 8.

The indentation 24 in the intumed portion 2| of each valance holder I8 cooperates with a corresponding depression 28 formed in a resilient tongue 8a on and forming the forward portion of the top flange 8 of each of the end brackets I and 2, adjacent the front edge thereof, to form a resilient catch structure adapted to maintain the holders I8 in the position shown in Fig. 2, to retain the front plate 8 in casing-closing position.

Parallel to the rear flange I, in each instance, the end brackets I and 2 respectively are provided with a flange 21 which is spaced from the rear flange I a distance slightly in excess of the thickness of the metal of which the'back plate 4 is composed.

As shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 the back plate 4 is of a concavo-convexed cross-section and its overall thickness 2: measured from a plane tangent to the crown y of the convexed face 4a to the parallel common plane of the side edges 2, z of the concaved face 4b is substantially greater than the thickness t of the metal of which the plate 4 is composed. Therefore, by flexing the opposite ends of the plate 4 transversely and converting the cross-section of the ends from the concavo-convexed form shown in Fig. 7 to a substantially flat form, after the end brackets I and 2 have been installed in position in or at a window frame, said ends may be readily inserted in the slots or openings 28 formed between the flanges I and 21.

. The plate 4, due to its peculiar structure, may be flexed longitudinally to facilitate the insertion of the opposite ends thereof in the slots 28, 28 respectively, and, when released, the back plate will assume a rectilinear state as a result of the structure inherently reassuming its concavo-convexed cross-sectional shape when unrestricted.

By reason of the fact that the opposite ends of the back plate 4 are confined within the slots 28,28 between the flanges I and 21 the attempt of the end portions of the plate to reassume a normal concave-convex cross-section within the slots 28 causes the ends to frictionally bind against and between the flanges I and 21 and thereby retain the plate 4 firmly in position, at the same time permitting said plate to be readily removed by merely flexing said plate longitudinally intermediate the end brackets I and 2, which will withdraw or permit the withdrawal of the opposite ends of the back plate from the retaining slots 28, 28.

. As shown in Fig. 2, the front plate extends the full distance from the top flanges 8 of the end brackets I and 2 to the lower edges 28 of the end plates 8, which lower edges are bent inwardly as indicated at 38 to form relatively narrow stifl'ening flanges along the lower edges of the end brackets.

The head rail 8 extends substantially from the back face 8I of the front plate 8 to the back flanges I, 1, thereby fully enclosing the top of the head casing. I

The back plate 4 extends substantially from the lower face 82 of the top rail 8 to a point short of the lower edges 28 of the end plates 8, 8. The depth of the back plate 4 may vary in accordance with the mechanism used for raising, lowering and tilting the blind and, if necessary, may extend down to the lower edges 28 of the end plates 8.

The flanges 21 are turned inwardly, as indicated at 88, 88 to embrace the upper and lower edges of the back plate 4 to prevent vertical shifting of said plate relative to the end plates 8, 8. Each of the flanges 21 is provided with a body flange 84 which may be screwed. riveted, welded or otherwise secured to the end plates In order toprevent the head rail 8 from "walking" outwardly along the supporting shelves I8, II, a latch 88 is provided below each shelf, with a lip 88 extending upwardly through a slot 81 in the shelf I8 into a recess 88 formed in the lower surface of the head rail 8. Each latch 88 is pivoted at 88 to its associated end plate 8 and is provided with a forwardly projecting finger grip 48 by which it may be moved from its locking position, shown in full lines in Fig. 2. to its head rail releasing position, shown in broken lines in said flgure.

In order to prevent accidental displacement of the latches 88, each latch is provided with a small protuberance 4| which is adapted to resilient y project into a hole 42 formed in the end plate 8. The resilient character of the latch provides for flexing of the same to release the protuberance 4i from the hole 42, when the latch is deliberately moved from its full line position to its broken line position in Fig. 2.

As shown in Fig. 1 the tilt rail 48 to which the ladder tapes 48, 48, supporting the slats 41 and bottom rail 48 of the blind, is pivotally supported at its opposite ends in brackets 48' and 88, which are secured, in the present instance, to the underside 82 of the head rail 8.

The bracket 88 carries the tilting mechanism 5|, while the bracket 48 carri-s the locking mechanism 52 for the elevating cords 88 and by which the blind may be raised and lowered and maintained at various elevations in the usual manner.

It will be noted that the back plate 4, as shown in Fig. 1 extends downwardly a sufficient distance to completely conceal the raising, lowering and tilting mechanisms. In a like manner the front plate 8 and end plates 8 extend downwardly a suflicient distance below the under-surface of the head rail 8 to conceal the operating mechanisms completely from the front and ends of the head casing.

The front plate 8, as shown in Figs. .2 and 3, is of a wooden construction and may conform on its front face with the trim molding around the window frame. However, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the front plate 8a may be composed of a metal plate provided with an up-and-intumed flange 54, while the upper edge of the plate 8a may be provided with an inwardly and downwardly extending flange 88 spaced from the plate in a distance corresponding substantially to the thickness of the wooden valance 8, the lower edge of the flange 55 being disposed below the front edge 25 of the shelves I8 to prevent the front plate from being accidentally moved inwardly out of its proper position in the head casing.

We claim:

1. A Venetian blind head casing comprising a pair of end closures, each provided with a slot concave-convex cross-section having its opposite ends respectively mounted in said slots with the crown of the convexed side and the edges of the concaved side bearing against the Opposite sides respectively of said slots, and means extending across said slots to limit movement of the back plate longitudinally of said slots.

WALTER J. STUBER. JOHN J. DI IENNO. 

